Hall said that Mercy Air would be willing to provide the same service, but that the city has never asked for it.

Ultimately, Oceanside’s City Council majority — Jerry Kern, Jack Feller and Gary Felien — balked at the REACH deal because they said the city would wind up paying the pension costs of the paramedics assigned to REACH. The council instructed Fire Chief Daryl Hebert to renegotiate the deal.

Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez have said they liked the idea of having an emergency helicopter based in Oceanside.

“I look at it as a benefit for public safety,” Wood said during council discussion of the REACH proposal.

The talks with REACH Air Medical are ongoing and a new proposal could be back before the council as soon as next month, Weiss said Friday.

Mercy Air officials contend that they should be given a chance to offer a counter proposal and that the city should have issued a formal request for proposals from all comers, rather than negotiating solely with REACH Air.

“We were never given the opportunity to submit a bid,” Hall said.

Weiss said there was no reason for the city to issue a formal request for proposals because it wasn’t the city’s idea to look for a second air ambulance company to service Oceanside.

“We’re not really soliciting city services. They came to us with a proposal,” Weiss said.